A 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round win at Derby did nothing to change Michael Appleton's determination to improve his Blackburn squad in the hope of mounting a promotion challenge.
The former Portsmouth and Blackpool manager, who was managing his third club in the FA Cup this season, recorded his first win as Rovers boss at Pride Park on Saturday. He does not believe, however, that the success means everything is as it should be.
"I'm delighted to be making progress in the competition but I still believe we need to bring in a couple more players before next Thursday's deadline if possible," he said.
"There is still plenty to play for in the league and areas where I would like to see us being able to call on reinforcements.
"I don't have a budget as such but I am sure the owners would support me if I went to them with a viable deal for the right players.
"Victory is all-important in the cup but keeping a clean sheet at a place like Pride Park is also a big plus for us. I believe in trying to build a platform and a structure that makes it hard for the opposition to score or get behind us and there were very pleasing signs of that sort of shape developing."
Derby manager Nigel Clough felt his side had been beaten by the better side.
He said: "Blackburn were a bit too good for us although there was nothing in it until we paid for a bad mistake with their first goal just before the break.
"After that, their experience and physical strength shone through and our young lads found them hard to handle.
"Jordan Rhodes and Colin (Kazim) Richards are as big a handful as any attacking partnership at our level and it was also a tough task for our kids to come up against a player like Danny Murphy in midfield."
Source: PA
